This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Run the ball and stop the run, those are the foundation stones for the New England Patriots in 2024.
Head coach Jerod Mayo credited his maligned front for setting a tone for toughness that carried the Patriots to a 1-0 start in a 16-10 victory over the Bengals in Cincinnati.
“I’ve been saying it for a long time, I think the whole offensive line conversation has been overblown,” Mayo said Monday. “They did that (Sunday). I’m not really too concerned with the offensive line.”
Mayo echoed the sentiment from players on Sunday who said the difficult training camp helped impact the outcome of the game. Rhamondre Stevenson carried 25 times for 120 yards and a touchdown to help make the ball-control approach effective.
“We’re a game plan team overall. One thing (GM) Eliot (Wolf) and I agree on: Rhamondre is a very special back,” Mayo said. “He may not get all the publicity and things like that, but this a guy that can run the ball, fall forward 4 yards every single play, catch the ball out of the backfield. A very smart football player. You want to get the ball in the hands of your best players, and I would say Rhamondre is one of them.”
The Patriots enjoyed the flight back to Foxborough on Sunday night but Mayo made sure to emphasize competition starts over on Monday.
In Week 2, New England hosts the Seattle Seahawks (1-0) and another rookie head coach — Mike Macdonald — who similarly believes in leaning into a traditional offense built around the running game.
“It’s one game,” Mayo said of his message to the team and coaches, noting he did not give players a customary day off for “Victory Monday.”
“We won one game. We could easily be here next week, if we don’t go out and execute … win, lose or draw, we’ll wrap the game up the day after and move forward,” he said.
Kenneth Walker III had 103 rushing yards on 20 carries for Seattle in a 26-20 win over the Denver Broncos. Seattle ran 33 times for 146 yards. The Patriots ran 39 times for 170 yards.
Another similarity between the Week 2 foes: Seattle counts on a retread starting quarterback, Geno Smith, to steer the offense and take shots downfield when the defense invites them. Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett had 32 rushing yards — including a 16-yarder — one of the surprises of Week 1 for Mayo.
“(Brissett) actually made some plays with his legs, which was surprising, because he’s probably the slowest Black quarterback in the league,” Mayo joked Monday in a separate radio appearance on WEEI.
–Field Level Media
